


(Bus) Ride or Die

by myfeelingsareintense



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV), Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher
Genre: A little angsty?, Crack, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, bus rides, car crash mention, i literally cannot write anything that's not at least a little angsty tbh, in which justin is dumb but alex adores him for it, it's nice, only briefly but yes, teenagers in love, they're just enjoying their youth in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-11
Updated: 2018-03-11
Packaged: 2019-03-29 23:10:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13937430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myfeelingsareintense/pseuds/myfeelingsareintense
Summary: Inspired by the following tumblr prompt: "you're a senior for crying out loud, stop writing 'suck on deez nuts' on my window when we ride the bus"In which they're forced to take the bus and Justin's dumb attics cheer Alex up





	(Bus) Ride or Die

You really don’t realize the things you take for granted until they’re taken away from you. Alex really didn’t fully grasp how much he relied on his car until the day he crashed it into a tree. He normally wasn’t a bad driver, but he had been known to be reckless at times and when it started pouring rain, he didn’t exactly slow down to accommodate the weather. He’d been having a bad day, and he really just wanted to get home. 

 

He wished he could do that day over, but sadly, he couldn't. His parents were, of course, furious with him once they realized he was safe and no one was harmed. They were making him get a job to pay it off. He felt miserable, and now he didn’t even have his instant getaway for those nights when he just needed to drive away from his house for a while. He loved his family, but sometimes he couldn’t help but feel suffocated in those walls.

 

Being with Justin made it easier, but now he couldn’t even drive them places. Or drive to wherever Justin was. (Although, thankfully, Justin spent most of his time at Alex’s house nowadays.) He was accustomed to driving both of them to school, especially since now they were seniors, and most seniors avoided the bus at all costs. It was seen as much cooler when you drove yourself to school, and even if Alex didn’t really care about that part, he hated the bus. It was full of annoying teenagers who took up too much room with their backpacks and tossed garbage in the air for fun and honestly, once he left school, he really didn’t want to spend any more time with the student body at Liberty High. At this point, he’d spent enough time with them to last a lifetime.

 

It was just a terrible way to end the day. Normally he looked forward to driving him and Justin home or to Monet’s after school, but now, he didn’t have that nice part of his routine anymore. Justin, however, didn’t seem to affected by this change in routine. In fact, he seemed to embrace this throw in their daily schedules, and as soon as they got on the bus for the ride home, Justin grabbed his hand and led them right to the back of the bus, despite Alex’s protests. 

 

“It’s been forever since I’ve rode the bus,” Justin commented with a certain excitement in his eyes. Justin always appreciated spontaneity; Alex, however, preferred structure and routine. His parents had always been very orderly, and he’d been raised on to-do lists and detailed itineraries. Justin’s life had always been a bit chaotic, and he did well under pressure. Justin knew how to adapt to change well. Alex did not.

 

Needless to say, Alex was taking the whole having to take the bus thing harder. He missed his car. Not because he was one of those guys who prided himself on the model or the engine or something like that, but because it was a mark of freedom and independence that he craved. It was practical; it gave him an escape. The bus did the opposite. Because now instead of being able to leave behind his fellow students once the school day ended, he had to take a bus ride with them. The situation was definitely not ideal by any means.

 

Normally, Alex loved Justin’s adaptability and optimism about change, but today, he was just really not in the mood. “Yeah,” he grumbled. “Me too.”

 

Justin nudged his shoulder. “Oh come on, Alex. It’s not  _ so  _ bad.”

 

Alex looked at him incredulously. “Yes, it is bad.” He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I hate the bus.”

 

Justin smiled, reaching over to pinch his cheeks. Alex grimaced, pushing his hands away. “Oh cheer up.” Justin shifted to look at the windows, which were fogged up from the weather. It was so humid outside you could  _ feel _ the thickness of moisture in the air. Justin swiped the tip of his finger across the window. “Look! We can draw on the windows,” he exclaimed. Sometimes Justin got excited about the simplest things. It was infectious, and Alex couldn’t help but crack a smile. Justin twirled his finger around the edges of the window. “You try.” He grasped Alex’s wrist and pulled him closer to the window. 

 

Alex rolled his eyes but indulged Justin nonetheless, writing ‘hi’ on the window. Justin smiled approvingly. “But it’s backwards!” He pointed out. “You gotta write it so other people could read it.”

 

He paused for a moment, thinking something over in his mind. He seemed to be so deeply concentrated that Alex couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. He started tracing ‘DE’ with his pointer finger, and Alex furrowed his eyebrows. “What’re you drawing?”

 

Justin didn’t look up when he said, “You’ll see.” 

 

By the time Justin had finished writing ‘DEEZ NU’ Alex started to catch on. “Are you seriously writing ‘DEEZ NUTS’ on the window?” Justin didn’t respond, but when he finally finished writing, he looked back at Alex with a look of accomplishment and pride on his face. Alex couldn’t help but beam back. His boyfriend was an absolute idiot, but he adored him for it.

 

“It’s good.” Alex bit his lip, teasing. “But it’s missing something.”

 

Justin glanced back at the window, eyebrows furrowed and confused. “What?”

 

Alex leaned over and above where Justin had written ‘DEEZ NUTS’ he began to write ‘SUCK ON.’ The ‘S’ was accidentally backwards. “Ugh, I messed it up,” he complained, biting his lip. Writing backwards was harder than it looks.

 

Justin wouldn’t stop smiling. “It’s perfect.” He leaned over and kissed Alex’s cheek, making his cheeks turn a tint of pink. “I love it.” He reached down into his pocket and took a picture of their artwork. “‘SUCK ON DEEZ NUTS.’ Truly a masterpiece.”

 

Alex laughed. “Send that picture to me, Picasso.” 

 

Justin chuckled, nodding. “Personally, I think I’m more of a Vincent Van Gogh.”

 

“And  _ I  _ think you’re an idiot, Justin Foley,” Alex teased.

 

“You know you love me.” Alex just laughed and kissed him until the bus hit a pothole, and they were jerked into the seat in front of them. Alex rolled his eyes, but when he saw Justin starting to draw a penis onto the window, he thought that maybe,  _ just maybe, _ taking the bus wouldn’t be quite so bad. 

 

~~

 

The next week they still had humid weather and the windows were still foggy, especially in the mornings. Each morning, Justin still wrote ‘DEEZ NUTS’ on the window. One day soon, the bus driver was going to find out who was doing this, and they’d both be in trouble. Alex didn’t care so much about that, but he still couldn’t help but groan on the sixth consecutive day at Justin’s antics, “You're a senior for crying out loud! Stop writing 'DEEZ NUTS' on the window whenever we ride the bus.” 

 

Justin just laughed, poking at Alex’s side. “But it’s a tradition now.”

 

Alex smiled. “Alright,” he agreed, chuckling. “Move so I can write, ‘SUCK ON.’ I’m starting to get better at writing that backwards.” He wasn’t sure how he’d ever use that skill in life, but he was quickly learning that bus rides weren’t so bad. Not when Justin Foley was by your side to make you laugh. And yeah, their tradition was silly and dumb and immature, but it was theirs. Justin posed by sticking his tongue out underneath the words as Alex snapped a picture of their daily masterpiece. He grinned. “Perfect.” And everything truly was perfect, for this one dumb, immature, youthful moment.

**Author's Note:**

> I know that California weather isn't normally so humid (right? East Coaster here, I'm not totally sure), but let's just pretend it is. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Leave kudos and comments if you liked it. It really boosts my self esteem haha.
> 
> Also posted on my tumblr @varsityleatherbluejacket


End file.
